Jack slid the file across the table with a flick of his wrist, the heavy cardstock making a satisfying thump. “Case closed,” he said, leaning back in his chair. He watched as his superior, Captain Davis, thumbed through the photos—mugshots, crime scene pics, evidence bags—before giving a slow, weary nod. Jack was the best. He didn’t lose cases. He didn't make mistakes. The entire department knew that if you needed someone taken down, you gave the case to Jack. It wasn't ego; it was a simple fact.
“That’s why I’m bringing you in on this,” Davis said, pushing the file away as if it were a dirty dish. He motioned for Jack to follow him, leading the way through the labyrinth of the precinct to a small, windowless conference room he never used. A woman in a sterile lab coat and a man in a crisp suit were waiting. The air in the room was thick with something Jack couldn’t place—not the usual scent of coffee and stale doughnuts, but something sharper, more clinical.
“Jack, this is Dr. Aris Thorne and Special Agent Collins,” Davis said, gesturing to the two strangers. “They’re from a... different branch of the government.”
Collins cut right to it, his voice a low, precise instrument. “We’re targeting the Romano syndicate. Roberto and Cynthia Romano. They’ve been untouchable for too long. They operate with an iron fist, and they’ve got eyes and ears everywhere. We’ve been trying to get an informant inside for years, but anyone who gets close either disappears or turns up on a slab.”
Jack’s eyes narrowed. “So, you want me to go in. Fine. What’s the angle?”
Dr. Thorne spoke next, her tone strangely detached. “The angle is unprecedented. We’ve developed a form of cellular regression and duplication. We can take you, and for lack of a better term, ‘reset’ you.”
“Reset?” Jack scoffed. “What, you want me to lose a few pounds? Grow my hair out?”
A humorless smile flickered across Collins’ face. “We’re going to make you a baby. Specifically, a baby girl. The youngest child of Roberto and Cynthia Romano, Ruby. The technology will effectively take your consciousness and memory and implant it into a duplicate of the infant Ruby. You will grow up as her, from birth, until you are old enough to gain the information we need. As the youngest child, no one will expect her to be a threat, and you will have unparalleled access to the family. No one would ever suspect a baby.”
Jack stared at them, a cold wave of disbelief washing over him. “You’re telling me you want me to become a baby. A girl. In a diaper. For years.”
“That’s the plan, Jack,” Davis said, his face grim. “It’s the only way. You're the only one we trust to retain the discipline and sense of duty to see this through.”
The room seemed to shrink around him. He thought of his life, his work, his identity. All of it, gone. Replaced by a blank slate, a new life he didn't ask for. He was the best, yes, but could he do this? Could he give up everything he was for a job?
Before he could answer, the room started to blur. The faces of Davis, Thorne, and Collins became distorted, like reflections in a funhouse mirror. A high-pitched hum filled his ears, growing louder and louder until it was the only thing he could hear. It wasn’t a sound so much as a vibration that rattled him to his very core, shaking loose everything that made him Jack. He felt his body dissolve, his bones turning to liquid, his muscles melting away.  indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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